And the best part: it’s FREE. That’s amazing enough to warrant repeating. It’s FREE.

That’s right—For anyone with Windows 7 or higher, Windows 10 will be a free upgrade. Distributing their new operating system for free is untested waters for Microsoft, and it’s something that is being met with great applause in the tech community. 

But Windows 10 being free is hardly the only thing that was announced Wednesday at Microsoft’s Windows 10 unveiling press conference. Let’s take a look at all the big announcements that should have you Windows-philes itching your skin in anticipation.

Full disclosure, when Windows’s new operating system was announced, we called it Windows 9. We’re still not sure what happened to Windows 9. 

The Start Menu Makes a Valiant Return in Windows 10

You heard me. The start menu is back. So quit complaining that you can’t find your precious control center in Windows 8. Maybe if you paid attention to the installation tutorial, you wouldn’t be so daft…lost. I meant lost. 

Anyways, the start menu is back and it has all the fixin’s everyone loved from previous versions of Windows (like all versions pre-Windows 8). Of course, there will still be those live tiles of Windows 8 off to the side there, but hey, at least it’ll be easier to do whatever you need to do, right? Familiarity is key in the technology world—I mean that’s why people still use MS Office, right? 

But don’t just take my word that the start menu is back. Take a look:
 
Look how pretty, guys. Can we stop complaining about it, now? I’m sure Microsoft will appreciate it since they brought it back for FREE. 

Some new features of the start menu will be easy access to things like WiFi networks, Bluetooth, and other settings. Speaking of settings, those menus should be cleaned up and easier to use—which is great. 

This is all in an effort to appease both mouse-and-keyboard users and touchscreen users all at once. 

That’s why Microsoft announced a new feature called Continuum which is specifically designed to befit convertible devices—meaning that if you have one of those cool laptops that can switch around and become a tablet, then Windows 10 will realize that and make the screen more touch friendly, rather than mouse-and-keyboard friendly. 

Fat-fingered people rejoice!

Cortana is Coming to the Desktop

The first in Windows’s awesome, Halo-based rebranding, Cortana is Microsoft’s little digital assistant (much like Siri for you Apple people). And it’s coming to the PC. 

Why is this “big” news? Because Cortana will be hiding next to the start menu readily available to search your computer at the drop of a voice command or keystroke. And it’s kind of awesome. 

Cortana will search all your documents locally stored, and even the ones stored on Microsoft’s cloud service, OneDrive. Another cool aspect is that it will also suggest cool links and suggestions. 

Cortana will also give you notifications for things like sports, flights, and everything else you’ve searched for that it might think you’d like. It’s going to be your little buddy.

Project Spartan: The Internet Explorer We’ve Always Wanted *

*Maybe

In another instance of awesome Halo-branded things, Microsoft is working on a new Internet browser that may replace the much-maligned Internet Explorer. 

Labeled as a cleaner browser, Project Spartan will allow the user to annotate any web page they see fit. So if you use a site for recipes, but you like to doctor them to your liking, you can just edit them right on the page. Simple. Efficient. And definitely cool. 

Project Spartan will also offer a “reading mode” that will turn any web page into a more simpler, almost eBook feel for easier reading. To go along with the reading mode will be a reading list which works in much the same way as the site Pocket, if you’re familiar with that (and if you aren’t—get on that!) 

Also, much like the start menu, Spartan has Cortana built right into it to help you navigate the internet in ways you didn’t think possible—but a robot did. 

Hopefully, Spartan will render Internet Explorer irrelevant and be a true competitor to Google’s Chrome. Only time will tell on that.

Streamers Rejoice: You Can Finally Stream Your Xbox Through Your PC

Think about Microsoft and gaming for a second. If you’re part of the PC master-race, chances are you’re running some version of Windows. And the Xbox One holds a significant share of the console gaming market as well. 

How could Microsoft monetize this even more? Make an Xbox app for Windows 10? Well, yes. And that’s exactly what they’re doing. 

All your friends lists will be there, as well as your achievements, etc. But it’s not just SmartGlass. You can actually stream your Xbox One games on your PC. And that’s pretty exciting for steamers and people who watch streamers and basically everyone. Is anyone else this excited for Windows 10!?

Windows 10 is the biggest thing to come out of the mouths of Microsoft in quite some time. It’s all everyone is talking about and for good reason. 

No word yet on if there’s any server version in the works, but as of now Windows 2012 Server Edition should suffice. 

Also, to refresh your memory—if you have Windows 7 or above running on your PC right now, Windows 10 will be FREE for you, if you get it before the end of one year of the release date. After that, if you want to upgrade, you’ll have to pay. 

Windows 10 should be rolling out in the next couple months, and we will definitely keep you updated when the release date is announced. 

Until then, freeze yourself in carbonite so the wait will be less painful. 

For more information contact Q.C. Crea

The post Everything You Need to Know About Windows 10 appeared first on Colocation America.

Why the Cloud Might Not be for Everyone

Much like Snuggies, the cloud is starting to become over-hyped. Everywhere you turn, something is being stored in the cloud. It’s great when it’s utilized correctly (see: makes sense), but there are instances where the cloud just doesn’t make sense.

However, most companies hear all about the cloud and want their data and services to be hosted on there even when it might not be the best course of action. This is leading to what’s called in the IT world as “Cloud washing.”

Cloud washing, according to techtarget.com, is “the purposeful and sometimes deceptive attempt by a vendor to rebrand an old service by associating the word ‘cloud’ with it.”

In explain-like-I’m-five terms, that would be like Domino’s saying they have their pizza’s in the cloud.

Cloud washing could become tiresome to many consumers, so it may be the companies who can realize before their competitors that there might be a better, faster, and more efficient way to host their data / offer their services than the cloud who will come out on top.

Until then, enjoy the cloud washing.

Private Cloud Will Be Too IT Intensive

Remember all those tech-predictions we mentioned above? Well, I’m sure you’ve read about “Private Cloud.”

If you ask most companies if they want more control over their data, nine times out of ten they’ll say yes. And that’s where private cloud snakes its way into their minds and ensnares them into thinking it’s a good idea.

I mean, it sounds great. That’s why it’s predicted to take off in 2015. But there’s something off.

To get more control over their data than they would if they were using third-party cloud services, they would have to sacrifice their IT budget. All the great, relaxing IT that was handled by these third-party cloud services is now in house and needs to be constantly monitored.

And the cloud management platforms needed to build the companies solution will require a cloud-architect with a really big toolbox (see: invoices).

So, if companies make the switch to private cloud, see how awful it potentially could be compared to how it used to be, then they might start to pursue other options.

Colocation is Making a Comeback

As our company name suggests, we love colocation and believe that you should stay grounded from the cloud. And apparently we are not alone.

As far as IT goes, colocation for big business will always be useful and will seemingly be around for a long time. While cloud landed a few body shots to colocation over the years, it wasn’t the end-all be-all. In fact, it really couldn’t be.

Colocation and cloud share similar characteristics, one being self-service operations—meaning that both perform poorly in areas that don’t involve basic tools and monitoring.

Ted Chamberlin of TLC3 Consulting recently wrote an article for Gigaom.com under this subject matter where he poignantly said,

“Cloud does have the benefit of hyperbole, which drives high adoption, where colocation is equated to leasing real estate.”

I believe Chamberlin’s quote is a realistic insight into the way cloud is heading. Eventually companies will realize that colocation is actually the more cost-effective IT infrastructure for hosting their data.

However, Chamberlin also noted that most who want cloud services typically would like to distance themselves from the critical kilowatts and cross connect vernacular of the colocation world and just go with the cloud. But those companies who are fiscally responsible might think otherwise and head on over to colocation (again).

Net Neutrality Will Have an Impact on the Cloud Market

We’ve talked about Net Neutrality at length, and the subject continues to pick up steam as the President’s State of the Union address looms ever nearer. But what does net neutrality have to do with the Cloud?

Well, it’s all about access to websites. And many of those websites deliver cloud application functionality.

Basically consumers (in the ring with the Democrats) do not want to pay for faster websites whereas internet carries (backed by the Republicans) want to charge the consumers for faster access to websites.

One way or another, the FCC’s ruling on net neutrality will determine how web developers design applications if they require faster access while working with lower latency.

This has really been an issue for years and with the need for speed on websites becoming more and more in demand…well the cloud may just take a huge hit.

Cloud Security Has Always Been An Issue

Much like how we’ve written at length about net neutrality, we’ve also written a bit about cloud’s security vulnerabilities.

Protecting your data is no joke, and while some cloud services are highly secured, some are not. And that’s leading to wide-scale customer information hacks from major companies including Apple, Sony, Home Depot, etc. And since it’s all on the cloud and not on a dedicated server. It’s all shared. So pretty much everyone on the server gets their information stolen. Yay!

Actually, cloud security has become such a problem that the Department of Defense has launched new cloud security requirements.

As part of the Service Requirements Guide (SRG), “Consistent implementation and operation of these requirements assures mission execution, provides sensitive data protection, increases mission effectiveness, and ultimately results in the outcomes and operational efficiencies the DoD seeks.” That’s a resounding message to cloud service providers if I’ve ever read one.

While there are certainly benefits to hosting with the cloud, it might not take off like widely predicted in many tech site’s 2015 predictions.

If you’d like to keep up on the matter, please take a few moments to watch The President’s State of the Union address (or DVR it—it’s 2015) and see where net neutrality will be headed and then make an educated decision on how you feel about cloud.

Remember to never let your brain be cloud washed.

The post Why The Cloud May Start to Burst in 2015 appeared first on Colocation America.

Seriously, people, they’re trying to help. Don’t let the internet be tied up in chains or else there may come a day when you won’t be able to read your favorite colocation company’s blog. And we wouldn’t want that, would we?

Still confused about where I’m headed with this? Why don’t I let this fine gentleman tell you a little bit more about it:

We don’t want our internet to be the (more) modern day Prometheus, helplessly chained to some cable company’s rock.

So that leads us to wonder what steps and measures the U.S. government is taking to help us. Let’s look at a few.

How the Government is Helping to Notify You of Data Breaches

That Obama guy is back and he’s kind of mad at companies for not notifying victims of their faulty security when those victim’s data gets hacked.

Now the government would like these companies to notify victims within 30 days of a data breach.

Obama, on the leg of the Sony Pictures hack decided it was time to finally let the people know. Said Obama, “This is a direct threat to the economic security of Americans’ families and we’ve got to stop it. If we are going to be connected, then we need to be protected.” That only makes sense, right?

The President means to talk more about this at his State of the Union address on January 20th. The main points regarding technology will be strengthening cyber security and increasing internet access.

A sneak peek at one of the new proposals will be something called the Personal Data Notification and Protection Act which will hopefully bring peace of mind to Americans who had literally no control over their valuable information being hacked and compromised during the ever-present security hacks of which we keep hearing.

Hopefully the 30-day rule will become a nation-wide standard that will give American consumers the information they need in a timely manner.

It will also give the companies who have been hacked a standard on how to deal with it on their end. Seems like a win-win for all parties involved.

Something else that became of this that will hopefully allow consumers to know if their information has been compromised: The White House said that major banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America will make credit scores available for free to their customers who have a debit or credit card with the company. Maybe these data hacks will end up being a good thing after all?

Probably not.

Technology at the Upcoming State of the Union Address

Let’s get back to the State of the Union address because there’s some really interesting things going on there.

Back in November, President Obama entered the net neutrality ring by urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to let the internet stay “free,” or, equal for businesses and the public.

That’s right, folks. Net Neutrality. The quiet assassin. The thing that we all kind of know about and that we all hope won’t really happen.

Well if it did that means that your cable/internet provider like Comcast or Time Warner could force you to pay much higher rates for different aspects of the internet. Like, for instance, you have to pay more for Netflix and things of that matter.

Basically, net neutrality is a horrible thing. And we all (should) hate it, but money grabbers mean to change that.

But Mr. Obama wants that not to happen and we should be thankful of our government and all that they do for us in this regard. The internet should be open for all and the government wants to help.

So, in front of an estimated 33 million viewers, the President looks to reach a wider, perhaps ignorant-to-the-matter audience.

Why The President Gained Some Ground for Net Neutrality

Gabe Rottman, of the American Civil Liberties Union, said of The President potentially mentioning net neutrality, “I think it’d be interesting if he mentioned net neutrality in the [speech] with everything else going on. His earlier call for Title II was surprisingly, and welcomingly, unequivocal.”

Title II of the Telecommunications Act is what Obama will be calling for to enforce stronger rules, and reclassify broadband internet like traditional telephones.

The current chairman of the FCC Tom Wheeler gave a surprising and strong indication at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) that he would side with The President on this matter. Wheeler mentioned how the mobile calling platform has been operating under a similar model for years without much hassle.

If you can reach your brains all the way back to last year’s State of the Union address, The President talked about his pledge to provide almost all U.S. students with high-speed broadband in the up and coming years.

If Title II can gain some ground, The President could make due on his pledge.

All in all, The President seems to be on the right path in both protecting Americans from the dangers of the internet through compromised data through hacks, or by urging the FCC to keep the internet as open as possibly in the fight for net neutrality.

Hey, maybe it’s time to give the government some props after all. Lower gas prices & an open internet. I love America.

The post Why The Government is Doing More Than You Think to Help The Internet appeared first on Colocation America.

As recent as Mozilla’s switch away from GoBing which powers Yahoo’s search engineogle and to Yahoo for searches is, the impacts are already being felt.

It’s been reported that Google’s U.S. search-share dropped from 77.5 percent in November 2014 to 75.3 percent in December.

Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, with colleagues at a conference. Photo by Max Morse

Since Mozilla’s Firefox accounts for around 14 percent of U.S. browsers, that 2 percent drop is rather significant.

What may be more alarming is that Google may be in more trouble in the near future. Reports say that Apple may drop Google as the default search engine on their Safari browser when the contract between the two expires this year, according to theinformation.com (log in required).

Apple’s Safari, which is the default browser on all of their devices, accounted for 54 percent of all U.S. mobile traffic in December, as opposed to 41 percent from Google browsers.

Apple’s rivalry with Google is well documented, especially for the mobile market. Apple famously dropped Google Maps for Apple Maps back in 2012 (despite the outrage), so it would not be beyond reality to expect a search-engine switch as well.

Keep it here for more updates as the story continues.

Original article published December 16, 2014:

Whether you are a casual Mozilla user or love their approach to web browsing, we’re sure you’ve noticed that Yahoo is now their default search engine. Some users may have changed back to their search engine of choice with the click of a button, but others—and quite a few—have stuck with Yahoo giving the company a significant boost in the internet search market. But while the increase in users is certainly a great thing for the Sunnyvale, CA internet corporation, Yahoo, what does it mean for search overall—and more importantly, what does the Mozilla Yahoo partnership mean for you?

For years Mozilla and Google have shared the same bed and for a long time Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer reveled in the riches of the Mozilla-Google partnership wearing the red, blue, green, and yellow blouse of Google. Now, wearing the regal purple of Yahoo, Mayer was thrilled to announce her company’s new five-year partnership with Mozilla.

What will be the aftermath of Mozilla’s Partnership with Yahoo? And where does it leave Google? Check out this video to see what the future may hold for the three tech giants. 

This is a big deal for Mayer and Yahoo who dropped their search engine a few years ago to focus on other aspects of their business. Now under the tutelage of Mozilla’s Firefox, Yahoo will now become a significant player in search. Firefox version 34 is in full swing with Yahoo now in default-charge of the browser’s search queries. But is it as good a search experience as search-titan Google was?

Can Yahoo’s Search Can Give Google a Run For Its Money?

If you don’t know, Mozilla has made much of its money from its partnership from Google. When a user used Mozilla’s browser and performed a query using whatever search engine they like, that search engine would give Mozilla some referral money. In 2012, 88 percent of Mozilla’s income came from Google. Putting two-and-two together would lead one to the conclusion that Google was the preferred search-engine choice among Mozilla Firefox users.

Why, then would Mozilla—who owns just around 10 percent of the internet-browser market (compared to Google’s Chrome, Apple’s Safari, etc.), make the switch to Yahoo? Wouldn’t they be losing money (it’s not the first long-time tech partnership to come to an end this year)? Maybe—but perhaps Mozilla is banking on the fact that the majority of their users will not even bother switching their default search engine away from Yahoo and they could be basing this hope due to Yahoo’s improved search functionality. Let’s take a look at some comparisons between Google’s and Yahoo’s searches:

As you can see, Yahoo’s search experience isn’t that different from Google’s. Google’s search for the movie has a few more “rich snippets” but Yahoo’s search provided a few movie trailers right in the results. It’s only a matter of preference, but the casual Mozilla user would most likely be satisfied with their search under Yahoo as they would have been with Google.

Should Google Be Concerned with Mozilla Switching to Yahoo?

In our opinion, Google should be a little concerned, but not too much. Mozilla, at the surface, wouldn’t seem like the type of company to ostracize Google based on any type of grudge they may have over Google’s user-information gathering. That information gathering is the only reason Google should be a little concerned because Mozilla could be, as Russell Brandom of The Verge suggests, scared of Google.

Potentially losing 10 percent of the search engine market is a significant hit to Google for sure, but let’s take a deeper look at exactly why Mozilla would make the switch to Yahoo. Mozilla has always tried to keep the internet as private as possible (no, really, despite the partnership with Google) and that’s why, in Mozilla’s statement about the Yahoo partnership, they are lauding the change as “promoting choice and innovation.” One stipulation of the deal is that Yahoo would honor Mozilla’s Do Not Track feature which will limit Yahoo’s ability to track user activity through advertisements (for which Google is famous).

Can Mozilla Win the Browser War with Yahoo at its Side?

Tying in with whether or not Google should be concerned, is the power that this type of change can have on the internet. Much has been made in the past year about net neutrality and the push for a free and open internet (one that doesn’t track your every move). Since Yahoo will honor Mozilla Do Not Track feature, one could see some users switching to Mozilla Firefox from Chrome and the word could spread from there.

Moreover, Mozilla allows for even more private search engines to be a user’s default search. Search engine sites like duckduckgo provide users completely private web searching. In fact, look at some of the search query types that Mozilla supports:

Additionally, private search might not be the only thing that will attract users to Mozilla’s Firefox browser. Firefox 34 is implementing Firefox Hello which will directly compete with Microsoft’s Skype, Google’s Hangouts, and Apple’s FaceTime as a voice/video over IP tool. Firefox Hello will support WebRTC, a technology that allows browser-based video and audio calling.

WebRTC is a game-changer in the realm of VoIP, allowing you to make calls within your browser (which isn’t entirely new and is supported by Chrome and Opera) but with Firefox Hello, the other person you’re calling doesn’t need the same application, like they would with Skype or FaceTime. All they need is a WebRTC browser.

With the user’s thoughts in mind (privately, mind you), Mozilla may make a dent in Google’s finely-crafted armor. One thing is for sure, Mozilla partnered with Yahoo as a long-term investment—hoping that users may eventually get fed up with Google’s tracking and switch to a more private browser. One that shares the people’s mind. And that leads us to the most important question….

Who Stands to Gain the Most from the Mozilla Yahoo Partnership: Yahoo, Mozilla, or You?

As Chrome seems to be all that matters in Google’s mind anymore, they may view Yahoo and Mozilla as washed up. Naïve as that thinking may be or not, they are certainly the only losers in the Mozilla Yahoo merger.

Yahoo finally gets back into the search picture—but the real winner from Yahoo’s side of thing could be Bing. Yes, Bing. The same Bing which powers Yahoo’s search engine. Microsoft didn’t have to pay one-dollar for the Mozilla Yahoo deal to increase their market-share via Bing. Eventually, Yahoo will want to pull away from Bing, but for now they are large benefactors.

That’s not to chide Yahoo by any means—I mean, when’s the last time you heard such big news from them? They get their name back into the limelight and that has to account for something.

Mozilla won as well, keeping their company values alive and showing that they are becoming truly independent of Google.

But the entity who gains the most from this partnership is undoubtedly you. After all, you get to make the choice of browser. You may love Google’s approach to giving you the best search results based off of your browsing and search history. Or you love the fact that someone out there is sticking up for user privacy. Mozilla and Yahoo have the user in mind and it will be interesting to see the impact of this merger at the nadir of net neutrality.

For more information contact Q.C. Crea

The post UPDATE: What the Mozilla Yahoo Partnership Will Mean For You appeared first on Colocation America.

While data centers have changed drastically in these terms over the past decade, it’s always exciting to look towards the future. In this instance, the not-so-distant future of the data center may make larger strides towards innovation than in years past—and that’s exciting. Take a look at this video put together by HP which pairs exciting music with the future of the data center:

With 2015 about ready to smack us in the face, let’s take a look at the 5 most promising data center trends in 2015.

How Data Centers Will Become More Agile

When one speaks of agility in a data center they’re not only talking about the speed in which data will transfer from host to user, but rather how quickly the data center operates as a whole.

In fact, in my research of the subject, I came across a great line by an answerer of the question “how does one create agility in data center design and usage?” on the tech question & answer site quora.com:

And that really is the main purpose of a data center after all, right? Data is changing constantly—think about it. Think about what was actually stored in a data center ten years ago as compared to now. Would you want your data center to use decade-old technologies to store data (and types of data) that are far more recent?

Moreover, a more agile data center paves a path for a much more efficient and collaborative workforce. And that can only lead to one thing: cheaper, more efficient data centers and an endless amount of innovation. Look for data centers to be much more agile by this time next year.

Data Centers Will Shrink While Expanding: A Paradox

It’s the day before the day of a major holiday, so I’m not trying to twist your mind around a Gollum-like riddle in the dark. No, I’m simply talking about how data centers will shrink and expand simultaneously. Oh, maybe that is a little confusing. But not to worry! It’ll all become clear soon.

In fact, Hitachi’s white paper “Create the Data Center of the Future” explains that the first problem facing today’s data center is data volume. They explained that, “while terabytes of information were the scare words for the past decade, petabytes of data are becoming the new normal.” Ah, then data centers need to expand to accommodate for the amount of data, right? Well, yes and no. They can also expand by shrinking (I promise this will all make sense).

While terabytes of information were the scare words for the past decade, petabytes of data are becoming the new normal

Now, one can look at this in one of two ways: physically, or from a business standpoint. Many major colocation companies see this wealth of data as a means to grow as a business, but the kind souls who actually operate the data center see the need for expansion of hardware. And that’s where the cloud comes in.

Now, we’ve spent some time explaining to our readers the dangers of cloud hosting. In fact, the majority of all those security hacks all over the news revolve around cloud-based systems.

Data Centers may fade, but will remain stronger

While the cloud reduces the amount of servers required, there are some pitfalls—but the cost (or lack thereof) keeps attracting more and more businesses.

Some companies, according to datacenterknowledge.com are re-evaluating the amount of physical space they’ll need to fully operate under the cloud and many are seeing footprint-reductions of nearly 50 percent.

Data Centers using the cloud will then see the normal data increase but reduced floor-space needed. And that’s how some data centers will shrink while expanding.

Adopting Flash Storage In Data Centers Will Be a Necessity

If you’ve gotten this far in the article, then I’m sure you’ve heard of flash storage or have at least encountered one of those ultra-fast SSD hard drives before. I’m sure it really stood out because, well, it’s ultra-fast. And fast equals money in the data center industry. Instantaneous might just be the word of 2015.

As heath providers, retailers, etc. wanting to retrieve their data faster than ever, data centers will have to full-scale adopt the technology sooner or later. Take a look at this blast-from-the-past video filled with British witticism by Mark Twomey of Data Center Insiders who was talking about flash storage in data centers all the way back in 2012:

Three years later is a human-lifetime from a software/hardware standpoint. So all those predictions Twomey mentioned are coming to a bountiful head.

Look for flash storage to make its mark in 2015.

Data Centers Will Require Less Humans, Become Automatic

We’ve touched on this subject not only a little bit in regards to data center agility above, but also in a previous blog. It’s fascinating, horrifying, and might just be the way of the future.

With business being business and all, many companies have already discovered that the less staff you have around, the less you have to budget for in labor. Wouldn’t it be awesome, then, if data centers could operate and function fully by themselves. With no need for that pesky human error?

Sure thoughts of Hal from Stanley Kubrik’s 2001: A Space Odyssey may come to mind (with a little of the Terminator mixed in, I’m sure). But if you think about what’s heavily weighted as the most crucial aspect of a data center—uptime reigns as king.

So if data centers were smart enough to repair themselves, or at least diagnose their problems so that a monkey could fix it but unplugging this or pushing this button, then wouldn’t everyone jump on that data center’s ship? Little downtime, zero risk of human error? Sounds great to me. And in 2015, some of these data centers could emerge.

With The Internet of Things on the horizon, and more and more focus being on technology, big data, and instantaneous (there’s that word again) information, 2015 looks like the year of the data center. Those who can adapt to the changes, and more importantly—those who prepare for those changes, will have a leg up.

One thing is for certain: by this time next year there will be billions and billions more data than there was this year. And the data center trends of 2015 will have to adapt.

The post The 4 Most Promising Data Center Trends in 2015 appeared first on Colocation America.

But in the grand schemHome Depot security supervisor Jeff Mitchelle of cyber attacks, was 2014 the worst? Take a look at this chart from Reuters that details the number of cyber security hacks since 2005:

Why then, were they so much more prominent in 2014, even though there have been the least amount of attacks since 2009? Maybe it was a slow news-year, but it was more likely not the amount of hacks in 2014 that made it so infamous, but who got hacked.

Who then, were at the forefront for the worst cyber crimes of 2014? It was difficult to narrow down, but here is our top (bottom?) five:

5 – Why Home Depot Was Warned, but Still Got Hacked

Home Depot’s cyber security fiasco happened this past September after some of the larger contemporary retail-hacks had already happened. That’s right, Home Depot certainly wouldn’t want to be put in that kind of light, and certainly they would have upgraded their security, but no—they still got hacked.

More than 56 million customer credit cards traced to sales at Home Depot were for sale on the black market. Ouch.

The sad part about the Home Depot security hack is just how little they were prepared. Even after consultants urged for higher-level security in years past, Home Depot security supervisor Jeff Mitchell told them to settle for “C-level security” instead.

Fortunately, after years of not encrypting their customer’s credit card data on its registers and computers inside stores, Home Depot completed a major security project in their US stores that will hopefully prevent this type of thing in the future.

You have to feel for all those contractors that trusted Home Depot for years as the supply-center for their business. Many of those contractors had their credit cards stolen and all because the Home Depot neglected cyber security in their stores. Certainly, many of those small businesses are rethinking buying their supplies at Home Depot.

4 – Why Apple’s iCloud Hack Revealed a Little Too Much

The cyber-threat-awareness media-campaign was catalyzed by Apple’s iCloud hack which revealed thousands of private and intimate photo leaks.

In what has been coined as “Celebgate,” nude celebrity photos flooded the internet and eventually started an FBI investigation into the site which hosted them:

Apple (being Apple) said that the security hack was not their fault and that people should be more careful in what they upload to iCloud (so, how is it not their fault again?). In fact, they even wen as far was to publish an open letter on privacy as a result. This security hack has lead to an overall internet-privacy issue, many lawsuits, and countless Google searches to be sure. But the main issue at hand is the growing popularity of the cloud compared to the security it offers.

It seems that no matter what service one signs up for these days, some part of it stores critical information on the cloud. Based on the amount of cloud-hacks this year, it might serve you better to get one of those fancy dedicated servers instead. Shameless plug is over. Let’s move on to No. 3.

3 – How Companies as Large as Target can be so Clueless

Wait, didn’t this happen last year? Yes, but Target was so clueless, all the details came out this year—so we’re adding it to 2014.

Before we even start, check out the dedicated landing page Target made on their website regarding the issue.

That should be enough to see just how bad this data breach was. And the number of affected customers seems to keep rising and rising.

When the news first broke, Target said that 70 million customer’s information may have been compromised. Now that number is in the hundreds of millions. And it’s not hard to imagine.

The hack took place during the 2013 holiday season—you know, Target’s busiest time of the year. Reports say that hackers installed malware on Target’s point-of-sale machines which recorded customer credit card swipes.

The most shocking part of all of this is that Target had no clue for a while. The freaking Department of Justice had to tell them about it. That’s sad. And that’s why it makes this list at No. 3.

2 – How Seth Rogan and James Franco Inadvertently Hacked Sony and Begot Terroristic Threats

The most recent cyber attack revolves around some comedians and tech titan, Sony.

When Seth Rogan and James Franco decided to make the movie “The Interview” the plot of which revolves around the assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Well apparently somebody wasn’t too happy about the making of this movie and decided to hack Sony, the producing company which funded the movie. Billions of files were hacked revealing shady business practices and other things.

North Korea is one of the suspected culprits (even though they keep denying it) and the movie has been pulled from theaters after terroristic threats were made if it were to be shown.

While the idea of a bunch of comedians making a movie can cause this much stress might be the basis of another comedy movie, these threats should be taken very seriously.

This is one of the first times that a cyber attack has leaked into the political world this much. It’s also one of the first times that a cyber attack has lead to a national security scandal. If cyber attacks can lead to terroristic threats on human lives (not just a cyber-threat), then this is when things will get very serious. 2015 might be the year where cyber attacks lead to actual attacks and that is why Sony’s hack makes this list so high.

1 – Why the JP Morgan Cyber Attack is Frightening

It’s never good when banks get hacked. That’s about the worst thing that could possibly get hacked, right? Well, it happened to JP Morgan Chase and it was bad.

More than 76 million households were affected—anything from addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses were acquired by the hackers and that’s just what was reported. In fact, it’s rather strange that JP Morgan refuses to admit how bad the hack actually was. Especially since those 76 million households make it the largest cyber attack against a bank in history. That’s right. Ever.

With a bank that large becoming a victim of a cyber attack, it raises questions of the national security of the nation’s banks in general as ABC News explains below:

Fortunately for you, JP Morgan claims that no account information was obtained in the hack—just the personal information listed above—but 76 million is such a large number that it makes you question whether or not account information actually was obtained.

If something as large as a major bank can be the subject of a cyber attack, then it’s no wonder why 2014 has become the year of cyber crime. And it’s also why JP Morgan takes the No. 1 spot for worst cyber security hack of 2014.

Bonus: Fun/Interesting Cyber Security Websites

For a neat interactive-visual of cyber attacks throughout the year, check out informationisbeautiful.net’s “World’s Biggest Data Breaches.”

And to see real-time security breaches, check out virus-protection giant Kaspersky’s “Cyber-threat Real-Time Map.”

For more information contact Q.C. Crea

The post The 5 Worst Cyber Security Hacks of 2014 and How They Affect You appeared first on Colocation America.

And what you might be hearing is countless blogs, articles, more blogs, more articles, news stories, etc. all describing how cool Amazon Web Services (AWS) is or how amazing all of Google’s and Facebook’s data centers are. Those countless musings all hint towards the demise of the data center to giant cloud companies as we know it.

Is Colocation Really Dying?

But Synergy Research Group has recently determined that colocation is very well insulated against all this cloud nonsense. In fact, worldwide retail colocation revenues are continuing to grow at around 10 percent per year, according to Synergy’s report.

Now get this: Synergy Group Chief Analyst John Dinsdale believes “the relative spend on colocation, enterprise data centers, and the cloud are all intertwined.” He continued saying, “Colocation is an an interesting middle ground. The growth of cloud is a big driver for colocation growth while trends in the enterprise are inhibiting growth in enterprise spend on colocation.”

So, basically most colocation (in the retail sense) revenues (60 percent of such) do not come from enterprises (which make up for 40 percent), but from service providers (cloud, IT, telcos, etc.).

Why Colocation is Still Hanging Around

But the big reason behind the colocation’s unwillingness to die lies largely in the ever-present, gloomy hands of outsourcing. Uh oh, another buzzword!

That’s right, outsourcing works very well in the favor of colocation because more and more cloud companies are outsourcing themselves to where it’s cheaper (I mean, who wouldn’t?).

But many business want to keep their data close to home, which means that their business is moving more towards secondary colo-based markets and not hanging on the very life and limb of Google, Amazon, and the like.

Also, as more and more security hacks become more present in the media, the word “cloud” has taken on a little bit of a tainted connotation. People then search for an alternative to cloud hosting and eventually find themselves reading a whole bunch of information on colocation—specifically, local colocation.

This doesn’t mean that those large cloud companies are declining (far from it, in fact) but it does mean that colocation is cleaning up on those secondary markets (which is a good thing for a company with Colocation in its name, right?).

One more thing: remember when we wrote about an IDC report predicting that the number of data centers will decline in 2017? That was mainly due to these humongous “mega data centers” becoming more ever present. While this is happening, however, not everyone will be moving into them and would want to stick with colocation for all the reasons we’ve listed above. This could mean more efficient colo-based data centers even if the number of total data centers decreases.

The post How Colocation is Still Thriving in an Increasingly Cloud-Based World appeared first on Colocation America.

But are you preparing correctly? Probably not if you have a huge database. It’s going to slow you down, make you frustrated, and generally give you a rough time.

Unless you implement NoSQL. In which case, get to adding that ASAP to your database.

What is NoSQL?

Our good friends over at WIkipedia define NoSQL as a “mechanism for storage and retrieval of data that is modeled in means other than the tabular relations used in relational databases.”

What that means is simple. Kind of. NoSQL can organize your data for faster retrieval of it which will help your Internet of Things life overall. So if you have thousands of devices all trying to access your data simultaneously in your Internet of Things lifestyle, then eventually all that data is going to end up like the streets of London during rush hour (trust me, that city was not built for that kind of traffic).

Matt Asay on readwrite.com describes how data has been predictable for the past 30 years. Asay pens, “companies would store customer data in the rows and columns of a customer-relationship management system.”

As you can imagine, data in the Internet of Things is not as predictable. Therefore somebody has to put on their work boots and get to work organizing and organizing and organizing. That is NoSQL and that’s the problem it solves.

How Does NoSQL Benefit the Internet of Things?

I want you to take a moment and think about all the headlines you’ve read in regards to the Internet of Things. It can get pretty doomsday talking about the millions and millions of interconnected devices. Asay believes that NoSQL is about to explode to solve this problem. In a study done by VisionMobile, they estimate that there are roughly 300,000 Internet of Things developers out there today, but by 2020, that number will grow exponentially. That calls for a summoning horn of NoSQL developers.

If these developers can get the Internet of Things going full-steam-ahead and data can be organized even without being predictable, then those millions and millions of devices will run rather smoothly at the onset.

But there are some issues involved.

What Are Some Problems Facing NoSQL and the Internet of Things?

The main problem is simply scale. That’s right, the Internet of Things could out-scale NoSQL before NoSQL is even ready to do it’s job. It would be like showing up to with a sledgehammer to demolish the shed in your backyard to only have that shed turn into a skyscraper overnight.

However awesome the prospect of having a skyscraper in your backyard may seem to you, that tiny little sledgehammer isn’t going to be much help in demolishing it. Just like no matter how awesome the prospect of the Internet of Things may seem to you, showing up with an outdated NoSQL program, will make it operate like a salted slug. And everyone hates salted slugs.

Therefore, we need some really smart people to figure out some really smart things to do with NoSQL—make it scale simultaneously with the Internet of Things or at the least make it really flexible for updates to happen quickly.

It is only then that developers and database owners alike will adopt the Internet of Things and the world can get along to being awesome.

The post What Is NoSQL and Why Do You Need It For The Internet of Things? appeared first on Colocation America.

Black Friday is the day when consumers go home with tons of unnecessary stuff they wait in line unnecessary amounts of time to purchase. Which is great if you’re trying to save a few bucks for the holiday celebration of your choice.

And since there’s so many stores doing so many deals with so many customers in their stores, there’s bound to be a ton of data, right? Sure. But sometimes it’s a little confusing.

So, for your Thanksgiving laugh-at-the-people-going-out-to-shop-Thanksgiving-evening pleasure, let’s take a look at some of Black Friday’s most interesting data with a little spattering of technology thrown in there for you.

Let’s start off by thinking about the amount of money retailers will make during Black Friday. Sure, there’s a ton of foot-traffic and a bazillion sales being made, but the cost of some of the items being sold is at or less than the cost the retailer buys it for in the first place. And this can get somewhat confusing for investors.

Take, for instance, this video demonstration done by the Wall Street Journal where they say that Black Friday and Cyber Monday statistics are pointless for investors to even look at:

Speaking of the holiday season, data, and Black Friday—remember the whole Target data breach last year in the aftermath of Black Friday? Will this year’s Black Friday have another data breach we can sink our juicy-media-hungry teeth into.

According to 247wallst.com, that breach cost Target nearly $158 million. Ouch.

Obviously, retailers will be doing everything within their power to prevent this from happening to them, but their servers will be insanely busy that day, and thusly who knows what could happen.

And that leads us to whether Black Friday is really worth it or not. Personally (and I know you all are on pins and needles waiting for that) I think it can be a waste of time and I’d much rather spend a little more to wait in line a little less. My opinion of Cyber Monday is a bit different however, as I love to sit back and buy things from my couch. I mean, who doesn’t.

But let’s rejoin our friends over at the Wall Street Journal where they’ve crunched the numbers on thousands of bits of data to come up with the stunning conclusion that Black Friday is not worth it for you at all.

Some mentionables from the article include that some of the items you’re purchasing on Black Friday, especially toys, are priced lower at various times throughout the year. So you can save yourself a little time and stress but looking for deals year-round. But then you’re missing out on all the fun!

Just remember to be safe and try not to murder anyone.

Happy Thanksgiving.

For more information contact Q.C. Crea

The post What Happens When Black Friday and Data Meet appeared first on Colocation America.

Let’s consider the words of Max Smolaks of datacenterdynamics.com—who is a self described journalist, intellectualist, and technofetishist—who says that the cloud is still in its infancy. Smolaks also mentions that despite all of the cloud’s good work, “IT infrastructure is still limited by specific hardware, proprietary platforms and closed systems.” Luckily for humanity, Smolaks says that will all change in the next five or so years. Yahoo! (Not Yahoo! the site, but Yahoo! in the sense of an exclamatory expression…you get it).

How Will The Cloud Change in the Next Five Years or So?

There’s a lot of technical jargon that you can read about in the link above including some that we have written about in the past regarding OpenStack and the like, but let’s focus more on the data center/cloud aspect of it all. I believe it’s fair to say that people who want customizable, but less complex technologies are in the majority. That’s where cloud shines because it collects all your different data, resources, and personal items from separate sources and puts them all into a common area: The Cloud. All of that is then retrievable from almost anywhere instantaneously and from mostly any device. Easy, simple, customizable, innovative, cheap, and just another step, right?

Mega-technology companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, etc. are jumping aboard the cloud bandwagon, building massive data centers to accommodate.

But as we all know, the cloud does have its pitfalls, being all shared and all. Security hacks and latency are the big issues (one that you most likely won’t encounter on your very own dedicated server). So that’s what those companies listed above (among others) are trying to patch. How can we make data center infrastructure and data-hosting technologies safer, more reliable, and faster? This question is why Smolaks believes the cloud is still in its infancy—and why I believe the cloud could be on its way out to make room for the second-coming of a more reliable cloud-like technology.

What Changes Will Be Made to The Cloud?

Not surprisingly, as the cloud continues to grow the politicians are going to start to take notice and try to ruin all the fun with regulations. In fact, some European countries require companies to build local infrastructure to rid consumers of that nasty latency issue and hopefully encourage higher senses and capabilities of security.

According to Ian McEwan, Egnyte’s head of Europe, there is a price war brewing that may bring the hammer down on the heads of cloud companies who give out free trials.

The bright, young couple of latency and local cloud infrastructure brings about an answer if you’d like to believe Matthew Finnie, the CTO of the British data center Interoute. Finnie believes the answer to the cloud’s shortcomings will come in the form of hundreds of distributed public cloud pods which will work in much the same manner of the internet.

But if that’s the case, it brings us back to our original issue: those nasty, politician induced regulations. That might bump up that five-year plan of Smolaks just a little bit.

Smolaks says “eventually all compute will run in the cloud” and he believes this because of the shortcomings of Moore’s Law (some law, huh?), which will supposedly start to end near the year 2020 where companies can offer 16-times more RAM and 15-times more network bandwidth of than the servers of today.

Ultimately, I believe that the battle for the IT infrastructure technology of the future will come down to cost. Hopefully someone somewhere can combine the reliability and security of a dedicated server with the customizability of the cloud. In that case, I guess Smolaks is correct in saying that the cloud is still an infant. I say that if it needs to change, then the new technology really would be the cloud, right? It’s getting old, just like all of us and eventually we’ll have the IT infrastructure we deserve, even if we have to wait a little bit.

For more information contact Q.C. Crea

The post Is the Cloud Still a Newcomer or on Its Way Out? appeared first on Colocation America.